


A Job Too Well Done

by veritashopian



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 08:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veritashopian/pseuds/veritashopian
Summary: Will gritted his teeth and stuck out his hand. Nursey stared at it in blank surprise. “We act like boyfriends until the day after Christmas, and on New Year's I get to break up with you,” he demanded. “Shake on it.”With all the gravity of the passage of dibs, Nursey took his hand and shook it once. “Deal.”





	A Job Too Well Done

**Author's Note:**

  * For [methequins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/methequins/gifts).



He knew what was coming from the thumping of footsteps on the stairs, but Will didn’t remove his headphones. It was about time that Nursey learned to interact with him like a normal person instead of just expecting him to drop everything he was doing and pay attention to him. So he didn’t look up from his coding assignment as the door to their room slammed open, nor when he heard Nursey’s muffled voice start babbling over his shoulder. He just kept typing in silence at his desk.

  
After about a minute he heard a frustrated whine, and he felt pretty smug until his headphones were ripped away from his ears and tossed onto the bottom bunk somewhere behind him. “Fuck you Poindexter, I know you can hear me talking to you!”

  
Will spun around with a withering glare. “Well now I can! What the fuck man, those are my only headphones!”

  
Nursey had the decency to glance over at them and shrug in apology before barreling right on. “So will you do it or not?”

  
“Do what?” Will closed his laptop and sighed. He had a feeling this wouldn’t be good.

  
“Okay, so you know how my extended family is kind of… awful, sometimes?”

  
That was an understatement. Will still shuddered to remember the Skype call he’d walked into between Nursey and his Aunt Maria. There were some words said that he hadn’t heard since he left Maine, and it left his ears burning. As Shitty would say, she was ‘a homophobic shitwad, no offense to you brah.’

  
Will nodded slowly. Things were starting to piece together. “And you’re nervous about going home for winter break? Do you actually have to see them?”

  
“Worse. We’re staying with the whole family at Darien and Maria’s beachfront property. For a _week_.” Nursey made it sound like he was spending break in prison, or worse- a Walmart. Will almost snorted at the thought, but bit it back. Nursey actually looked distressed about this.

  
Instead he leaned back in his desk chair, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “Okay. So what does this have to do with me?”

  
To his surprise, Nursey’s cheeks reddened slightly. He averted his eyes and his next words were spoken with his head turned to the side. “Yeah. About that. The beach house is in Maine.”

  
Will blinked. “I live in Maine.”

  
“Right.”

  
“Do. Do you want me to come out and fix his dryer or something? Because I can do stuff like that for the place I actually live in Nurse, but as far as driving out and doing free labor for your family members who can definitely afford an actual repairman-“

  
“No!” Nursey interrupted. His brow furrowed in confusion. “Dude, it’s nothing like that.”

  
He didn’t offer any further explanation, though. Will was starting to get really suspicious.

  
“Well?” Will prompted. “What is it like then?”

  
Instead of answering, Nursey pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out to Will. He still couldn’t meet his eyes. Will took the phone and read, his eyes getting wider by the word.

  
It was a series of texts between Nursey and his mom. From what he could tell, Nadia was pissed at her sister for ‘spewing enough shit that her ass ought to be jealous’ (wow, Nursey clearly got his poetry gene from his mom) and wanted to piss her off in return.

  
_I’m begging you, bring that boyfriend of yours to the beach with us. I’ll pay his way, and if his family wants him for the actual holiday I’ll drive him home myself. Maria will not make you uncomfortable to be yourself around your own damn family. Let me know so I can get the tickets._

  
“Pretty sure Shitty would disapprove of this somehow,” Will said, voice hollow from the ice that settled firmly in his chest. _Boyfriend_. “Something about using sexuality as a prop to further your agenda.”

  
“I know,” Nursey agreed with a nervous laugh. “But I figured if the agenda is to infuriate a homophobe he wouldn’t disapprove. Plus it’s actually my own sexuality, so I don’t think it counts as a prop.”

  
“WWSD?”

  
Nursey nodded. “Yeah, this is exactly what Shitty would do.”

  
Will handed the phone back. “So. I get the mission or whatever this is, but I still don’t see what this has to do with me? I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend.”  
Maybe that’s what the numb feeling spreading through his chest was. He didn’t know. Hell, he lives with Nursey now, you’d think he’d notice something like that. That’s obviously why he’s reacting like this. But if he let on that he was upset, Nursey would get defensive about his sexuality (which was stupid, and they both knew that) so he kept his face carefully blank as he waited for Nursey to answer.

  
Nursey’s blush returned full force. “That’s the thing. I don’t.”

  
“Wha-?”

  
“My mom thinks we’re dating!” Nursey blurted out. “I’m sorry, I should have told you like a year ago-“

  
“Whoa whoa whoa.” Will held up one finger and closed his eyes. “I’m going to need you to re- _the fuck_ -wind that statement and tell me what the hell you’re talking about. Because it sounds like I just heard you say that your mom thinks that the two of us have been _dating_ for at least a _year_.”

  
Nursey collapsed back on the bottom bunk and laid down with his hands covering his face. “I’m sorry,” he said again, more muffled this time. “Back when we uh, weren’t getting along? I might have talked to her about you a lot. And then when we finally got our shit together she thought-“

  
“That _we_ got together,” Will finished, incredulous. “And it didn’t occur to you to tell her otherwise?”

  
“She was so happy,” Nursey said, a pang of misery in his voice. He still wouldn’t sit up or look at Will. “When I came up here she was worried that even with ‘one in four’ I wouldn’t be able to make friends, or ‘more than friends’ I guess. So I figured I’d play along and then stage a mutual breakup sometime over the summer. You were never supposed to know, Dex. I was going to work it out on my own.”

  
“That’s messed up, dude.” Will couldn’t think of any other way to say it. All those times when Mrs. Nurse asked after him, and he thought she was just being nice. “Oh my god,” he realized. “Is that why she sent me that sweater?”

  
Nursey winced. “Um. Maybe? You don’t have to wear it around her if you don’t want to, but I know she’d appreciate it.”

  
“You’re talking like I’ve agreed to anything,” Will frowned. “Which I haven’t.”

  
The puppy dog look Nursey shot him was so far beyond fair it wasn’t even funny. He was doing the thing with his big green eyes and pouty lips that made him look so young and vulnerable. “Come on! You saw, she’ll pay your way so you don’t have to drive four hours both ways. Think of the gas money!”

  
“And my car?”

  
“Campus parking garage,” Nursey replied in a rush. “It’ll be out of the weather and no one will touch it. Security stays over break.”

  
Will thought for a moment. “And I have to… what? Pretend to be your boyfriend?”

  
“I know it’s asking a lot,” Nursey acknowledged. “And I know this isn’t exactly your comfort zone. But it would mean so much to my mom. And to me.”

  
“I don’t know…”

  
Nursey stood suddenly, pulling his own desk chair over to sit next to Will. His expression was like stone, lips set in a hard line. It was a more determined expression than Will had ever seen off the ice. “Please, Will,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

  
_Dammit._

  
Will gritted his teeth and stuck out his hand. Nursey stared at it in blank surprise. “We act like boyfriends until the day after Christmas, and on New Year's I get to break up with you,” he demanded. “Shake on it.”

  
With all the gravity of the passage of dibs, Nursey took his hand and shook it once. “Deal.”

* * *

Supposedly, it wasn’t Dex’s first time on a plane. But Derek would bet good money that it had been a fair amount of time, judging by Dex's death grip on his carry on.

  
“We’re not going over the ocean at any point,” Derek said, as much to assure Dex as to chirp him. “But even if we were, I would count on your seat cushion to save you instead of that bag.”

  
“Shut up,” Dex grumbled, but he slowly loosened his fingers from the bag’s straps and let it rest in his lap. He seemed frustrated by the clamminess of his own skin, rubbing his palms in circles on his jeans. “I feel sick, not scared. It’s bullshit. I work on a boat. I don’t do motion sickness.”

  
Derek’s heart twinged in sympathy. It was obvious that Dex was nervous instead of nauseated, but he’d never admit it. “Why don’t you try some of those cookies Bits made?” Derek suggested softly. “Ginger will help your stomach.”

  
Dex stared at him hard for a second, and Derek had to bite back a sigh. He knew that look. It was the look Dex got on his face when he was looking for a threat, picking apart Derek’s words for the hidden barb that wasn’t there.

  
“... good idea,” he finally relented, and Derek let out a relieved breath when Dex broke eye contact to rifle through his bag. The gingerbread cookies had been a team effort- Bitty baked them, but everyone had decorated. Derek recognized one he’d done himself- a dark haired, green eyed gingerbread man in a Samwell jersey.  
His attention snapped back up to Dex’s face as the bag opened, the sweet smell rising and immediately taking the edge off of his clenched jaw. Derek’s mouth turned up at the corners in a fond smile.

  
Will picked up the “Nurse” cookie and bit the head off of it.

  
“Chill!” Derek protested, attracting glares from the other passengers. He gave an apologetic little wave before lowering his voice. “You ate my head, dude. That’s cold.”

  
“You’re so dramatic, Nurse.” Dex rolled his eyes but passed him the cookie. “Here, if you’re so mad about it you can have the rest. I’ll eat Lardo’s instead.”

  
Derek took the cookie and sank his teeth into its arm, which featured an icing version of his own tattoos. He grinned as he swallowed, and couldn’t help but quip, “Wow. I taste good.”

  
It was worth the smack Dex aimed at his head to see his pallid face flush pink. “Oh, fuck off.”

* * *

They ended up getting an Uber from the airport to a restaurant in town. Will breathed in the familiar cold air of a coastal town and instantly felt more at ease. He might be Nurse’s guest for the holiday, but this was more Will’s turf than Nurse’s. He was so close to home that if he closed his eyes he could be standing on any given street in his neighborhood.

  
“There’s mom,” Nurse pointed. Will looked around the parking lot until he saw her- tall, olive skinned, and waving at them with a blindingly white smile. She stood waiting for them just outside the door of the restaurant, bouncing on her heels.

  
“Our stuff?”

  
“She’s out here to give us the car keys. Let’s hurry, she’ll be complaining about the cold as if she doesn’t live in New York.” Nurse’s words were sarcastic, but his voice was warm.

  
Will’s body finally caught up with his thoughts and he grabbed his carryon out of the car. He barely heard Nurse thank their driver over the sudden rush of noise in his ears. Why was he so nervous? He’d met Nadia before.

  
_But not as Nurse’s boyfriend._

  
It was jarring, the way their plan came back to him so suddenly. He completely forgot about it while he was freaking out on the plane, but now that Nadia was right in front of him he thought he’d rather take his chances in the air again. He didn’t know what to say or how to act at all.

  
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” he whispered. “Would it be a bad first impression if I heaved all over your mom?”

  
Thank God, but Nurse didn’t take the opportunity to make fun of him. He just took Will’s bag so he was carrying both on one shoulder and took Will’s hand, smooth and easy as anything. “Just be your charming self, babe. She already thinks we’re dating, so there’s no one to convince.” And then he started walking, taking Will with him.

  
“Hi, baby!” Nadia smiled warmly and wrapped Nurse in a hug.

  
“Hey, Ma.” Nurse released Will to wrap his arms around her in return.

  
Nadia chuckled and turned her attention to Will, who waved stiffly. “Hello, Mrs. Nurse. Good to see you again.”

  
She clicked her tongue in what sounded like disapproval, but the hug she gave him was just as warm and kind as the one she gave her son. “It’s Nadia, Will. You know that. It’s so nice to finally meet you now that you two are all _official_.”

  
“ _Ma_.”

  
“Okay, okay,” Nadia conceded. “I know, I promised not to be embarrassing yet. I’m just so happy for you!”

  
Will flushed and stared at his shoes as Nurse grabbed his hand once again, this time linking their fingers together. Nurse’s palm was damp. Gross.

  
“The keys, ma?” Nurse asked abruptly.

  
Nadia handed them over with a reminder to be quick and lock the car once they were done. Gifting Will with one more smile, she hurried back into the restaurant.

  
“Infiltration complete,” Nurse joked as they walked through the parking lot. “She really likes you, you know.”

  
“Why?” Will asked honestly. He was a hot headed handyman from a middle class Republican family, all things that had made him and Nurse butt heads from the very beginning. Surely his mom wouldn’t view him so differently?

  
Nurse rolled his eyes fondly. “She thinks you’re good for me. Something about you being the rational balance to my artsy mind.”

  
“Oh my fuck.” Will couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard. Are you sure it wasn’t more like the fact I can fix whatever you break?”

  
“The handyman of my heart,” Nurse agreed. It was a joke, but the way his eyes softened and his hand squeezed Will’s felt more serious than that. Will flushed involuntarily. Nurse was really intent on staying in character, wasn’t he?

  
It was a moment before he realized they’d stopped. Nurse hit a button on the key fob and Nadia’s trunk popped open. He hoisted the bags inside one handed- not anything overly impressive by hockey standards, so Will definitely didn’t notice or appreciate the flexing of Nurse’s bicep- and shut the trunk again without letting go of Will’s hand.

  
“So,” Nurse said. “Hungry?”

  
Nadia held true to her word- after they met her at a table inside, she encouraged Will to order whatever he liked. Will put up a protest against her paying for his meal, but Nurse distracted him by asking pointless questions about the difference between lobster and crayfish. The next thing he knew there was a giant bowl of pasta in front of him and his stomach loudly voiced its approval.

  
“I’m tipping for my share,” he declared around a meatball. Nadia and her son gave him twin exasperated expressions, but they were both smiling. Will relaxed further as the meal progressed, making pleasant and actually interesting conversation with the two of them about school and the family members he would soon meet. He didn’t even flinch when Nurse stole part of his meatball, only to exchange it for a cut of his chicken parm.

  
_Huh,_ he thought. _This isn’t so bad. Maybe I can pull this off._

* * *

There was no way Derek could pull this off.

  
It got easier once Will nodded off in the car, because it gave Derek a break from having to constantly control his expression during the drive. But they were only fifteen minutes away from the beach house and it would all begin again.

  
The touches. The talking. The _smiling_. Basically, any form of Will that didn’t actively hate him devastated all of Derek’s self control.

  
His mom wasn’t oblivious. She also wasn’t one to make huge, baseless assumptions. Sure, she was wrong about one thing. Derek and Will weren’t dating.

  
That didn’t mean Derek didn’t want them to be.

  
“I know he’s adorable, but maybe don’t stare while he sleeps,” his mom chirped from the driver’s seat.

  
Derek cringed. “I’m not, Ma.”

  
“If you say so.” She kept her focus on the road but flicked her eyes to the back seat for a second. “I could have sworn I told you boys to go to bed early. Did he not sleep on the flight?”

  
“No way. He’s scared of flying.” Derek reached forward and poked his mom’s arm. “Don’t say anything to him about it, though. He’ll get all proud and start projecting machismo all over the place.”

  
“But imagine the stain it would leave on the tablecloth!”

  
Derek snickered. “You are really pissed at Aunt Maria, aren’t you?”

  
The mood in the car shifted at that, and Derek regretted it instantly.

  
“She said such awful things to you, baby,” his mom said through gritted teeth, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I don’t care if she is family, or if it is Christmas Eve. She will not be cruel to my son.”

  
“Ma-“

  
“Just have a good time with Will tonight, Derek. That’s all I want. You’re just as worthy of love and happiness as anyone else.”

  
Derek couldn’t help but look back over at Will. One of his big ears was squished oddly against the window, his mouth hung slack and open, and a spot of drool had dried on the corner of his mouth. Soft snores drifted out of his mouth intermittently.

  
He shouldn’t be attractive like this. He shouldn’t be attractive _at all_. But Derek could write a dozen sonnets about Will’s ears- oh, who was he kidding? He already had.

  
“I know I am,” he responded, a beat too late. “So is he.”

  
The car hit an uneven patch of road; they were getting close to the shore. The main road could barely be seen in the rearview mirror as they left the city behind. Will’s eyes jolted open and he sat up, looking around in confusion before his eyes settled on Derek. “What did we hit?” he asked, words slurring slightly.

  
“Nothing.” Derek replied quickly, hoping his blush had died down. He’d probably been staring for a long time, but he couldn’t help but let his gaze wander to the pale pink mark the seatbelt had left on Will’s neck. “It was just a bump. We’re getting close though, so good timing.”

  
Will scowled, but the sleepy yawn that followed ruined the effect. He eyed the window and rubbed at his chilled cheek. “I’m going back to sleep,” he said abruptly.

  
“Okay?” Derek snuck a glance at his mom, who was pretending not to listen from the front seat. If Will was too tired to remember the plan and said something-

  
Will leaned over and laid his head on Derek’s shoulder, and Derek actually froze in his seat. Will, still half asleep, looked up through his lashes- not long, but fine, so fine and soft- at Derek. “Alright?” He asked.

  
“Yeah, uh. It’s chill,” Derek croaked, his throat suddenly like sandpaper.

  
Will hummed agreeably and nestled in, and within seconds the quiet snoring resumed.

  
Fuck it.

  
Just for the last little bit of the ride then. Derek unwedged his arm from in between their bodies and laid it across Will’s shoulders. Leaning his head against Will’s, he closed his eyes and tried to will his heart to stop shattering.

* * *

When he turned twelve, Will swore he’d never let anybody break his heart.

  
He’d seen it happen to his sisters, his cousins, his brother, and his friends. A broken heart was like an oven- like Betsy. It could be fixed, but it never worked quite the same way. It changed the way you clicked with people.

  
It made the room go quiet around him while a dozen pairs of strange eyes bore into him with horror. It made his best friend stumble back from him like he’d been hit.

  
A broken heart made Will leaving Derek under the mistletoe, running right out the back door. He ran down to the sand and further down the beach, unable to stop.  
The worst thing about it? Will couldn’t blame anyone but himself. It wasn’t like Derek pushed him into the doorframe, or Nadia planted the stupid plant there. Will saw the little sprig on a string the second they walked in. He saw it, he catalogued its location, and he made a plan to stay away from it at all costs.

  
But as the night went on, and he caught the high of Christmas and meeting all of Derek’s family, he chose to forget about that plan. Being Derek’s boyfriend was almost scarily easy, and Will kept justifying it by insisting to himself that it meant nothing. He held Derek's hand to spite Derek’s aunt. He sat next to him on the sofa and leaned into him because that was something they always did, it was fine.

  
He never willingly fell asleep on his defense partner, but that was fine too. They were _pretending_. That was all Derek had asked him to do, and Will had chosen to forget that just like he chose to forget where the mistletoe was.

  
The sound of the ocean crashed in his ears and Will stopped running, leaning over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Looking up, he saw that he’d run all the way down to the pier that sat nearly half a mile from Maria’s house. It was deserted underneath and the night was freezing cold with ocean mist, but the sand was dry under his feet. So Will sat down against a wooden pylon and tried to breathe some semblance of calm back into his body.

  
“Stupid,” he muttered to himself. He was such an idiot. How could he let himself- even begin to let himself _imagine_...

  
Will exhaled slowly and drew his knees to his chest. He was hurting. He was hurting because he knew he wasn’t Derek’s first choice for this. He was hurting because he’d gotten more engrossed in their act than Derek had. And then he’d ruined everything.

  
**_“Yoo-hoo, you two!” Nadia laughed, glass of wine in hand. “You know the rules- the mistletoe gods are owed a kiss!”_**

  
**_Will glanced to his side, where Derek stood petrified with his eyes glued to the top of the empty door frame between the kitchen and the living room. Will didn’t need to look, but he did anyway. It was a slapdash setup, but mistletoe on a string would never look very fancy anyway._ **

  
**_A beer in his own hand, Will was feeling good. After the supremely awkward first meeting with Maria, Will and Derek had laughed so hard they thought they were going to piss their pants. Her eyes bulged every time they do much as stood next to each other, so they’d engaged in a one sided game of gay chicken just to see how far it could go._ **

  
**_“Well, if we have to.” Will said, suddenly shy. This was a little more than they’d agreed on for their little ruse. But really, they’d already practically cuddled. And Derek was by his own word “a super open guy, you know?” It would really put the cherry on top of the metaphorical anti-homophobe sundae. So, just like Will imagined a boyfriend would do, he leaned in slowly toward Derek._ **

  
**_Derek jolted. He shoved out with both arms, somehow spilling both of their beers all over himself. “Fuck no!” he hissed. There was an unexplainable expression on his face, something that looked like pity but harder, more determined. “That’s just too far, Poindexter.”_ **

  
Wind whipped at the chilled skin of Will’s cheeks, and belatedly he pressed his face into his sleeves to soothe the sting. The sleeve of his sweater came away wet- and fuck, he forgot he changed into the sweater Nadia sent him in the fall- and he bit down on his lip hard to keep more tears from coming. He didn’t have any right to be upset that Derek didn’t want to kiss him, even in a fake way. But since Derek obviously wasn’t homophobic, that meant the only reason was Will. Why was it suddenly so hard to face the fact that they weren’t actually in love?

  
_“Will!”_ A new sound emerged over the crash of the waves, and Will took a deep breath to steel himself. He could do this. He could handle rejection, and he knew that rejection was coming. Derek would probably try to be nice about it too, which would make things even worse. He’d offer to change his flight back to school so they wouldn’t be trapped on a plane together, or pay for an Uber all the way to Will’s house right that second.

  
But that was only a patch job. What were they going to do about living together in the Haus? Hell, what were they going to do about playing together? They’d worked so hard to find their rhythm and then Will had to just wreck it all in one night.

  
“Will!” Nearby footsteps slid and scrambled in the loose sand. Will looked up to see Derek standing near the edge of the pier’s shadow, staring into the gloom with a searching expression. From that angle he wouldn’t be able to see Will unless he moved. “Come on,” Derek coaxed. “I know you’re in there. I need to talk to you.”  
Well, might as well get it over with. Will pushed up and away form his hiding spot and walked out into the faint moonlight. He came to a stop a safe six or so feet away from Derek, his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.

  
“I don’t see what else there is to talk about,” he said evenly. “Do you want me to apologize or something? Because it’s not going to happen. _You’re_ the one who asked me to fake date you, and _you’re_ the one who gave it away. I did everything you asked.”

  
Derek’s expression changed from determined to confused in the blink of an eye. “You- I- that’s the point, Will! You were doing it _too_ well. I never thought you would do that just for my mom’s revenge plan."

  
Tears sparked at the corners of his eyes, but Will blinked them back because no, no he was not going to do it like this. “Well I’m so sorry that I got in the way of that. Maybe you should have convinced your mom you were dating somebody else and you wouldn’t have had to deal with me throwing myself at you,” he snapped, biting sarcasm dripping from his words. He hated acting like this, it was awful and it never made anything better. But like hell was he going to sit back and be patronized like that. And to think he’d given Nurse the benefit of the doubt in thinking he would approach this maturely.

  
For a second, he saw the fight enter Nurse’s eyes. It was suddenly freshman year, and they were going at it again like they wanted to tear each other to pieces. But then Nurse’s mouth dropped open in a pantomime of shock. “Oh,” he whispered.

  
Will’s glare faltered. Derek was looking at him like he held all the answers in the universe. It made it hard to want to kill him. “Oh what?” He eventually asked after an uncomfortable silence. What the fuck? He thought they were going to fight, not have life-altering realizations.

  
Derek laughed shakily, shoving a hand back through his hair. “Oh my god,” he clarified. “Ma was right. I am an idiot.”

  
“I agree, but still lost.” Will relaxed his posture slightly, leaning his weight on one foot. “Care to use those fancy words of yours to tell me why you ran out after me just to add insult to injury?”

  
“I didn’t know there was an injury to begin with,” Derek explained. He paused before continuing. “So when you ran, Ma tore me a new one. She told me she couldn’t believe I had done that to you, and hurt your feelings like that. She said you were probably feeling really hurt that your boyfriend wouldn’t kiss you in front of his family. And then Aunt Maria made some snide comment and she started yelling at her, so I came to find you.”

  
“Because we’re boyfriends,” Will said.

  
“Yeah, because we’re boyfriends.”

  
Will worried his lip between his teeth, wincing as the chapped skin tore slightly. “But we’re not. That’s not what happened.”

  
Slowly, Derek took one step forward and then another. His green eyes looked grey in the washed out light, and they watched Will intently until the two of them were standing only a few inches apart. Derek reached out, but hesitated with his hand hovering near Will’s shoulder. “But you… did you feel like that was what happened?” He asked. “Because like, if you want... that could be what happened.”

  
Will gaped at Derek. If he wasn’t joking and Will wasn’t crazy, that sounded like Derek was asking him out. In the worst, most awkward way ever.

  
“Okay,” Will said softly. “That’s what happened.” He brought the hovering hand up to his cheek and leaned his head into Derek’s hand. It jumped, but quickly settled to cup the side of Will’s face in a tender caress.

  
“Okay,” Derek echoed, voice breathless and husky. “So what happens next?”

  
It was a perfect moment- a beautiful beach at night on Christmas Eve. Will could say that they should kiss and make up.

  
Instead he kicked out a foot and knocked Derek’s legs out from under him. It was a perfect maneuver, except that Derek grabbed two fistfuls of Will’s sweater and yanked him down with him. They tumbled into the sand in a heap of tangled limbs, a regular hockey player pretzel.

  
“What the fuck?!” Derek groaned. His knee jabbed into Will’s stomach as he struggled to sit up. “That’s a hell of a way to say you want to date me.”

  
“Considering you asked me to fake date you and then rejected me because you didn’t think I wanted to, I’d say we can call this even,” Will chirped. He found his feet first and offered Derek a hand up. “For real this time? I promise I won’t even break up with you on New Years unless you want me to.”

  
Derek grinned that blinding smile of his and took Will’s hand. “Deal.”

  
Will nearly went back to the sand when, after finding his balance, Derek lifted Will’s hand to his lips. He didn’t say anything, though. The mistletoe gods were owed, after all.


End file.
